Hearing aids having switches or control surfaces are known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,971,065 (Busse) discloses an In-The Ear (ITE) hearing aid having a switch for turning the hearing aid on or off. U.S. Pat. No. 5,463,692 (Fackler) discloses a Behind-The-Ear (BTE) hearing aid with switches for controlling the operation of the hearing aid.
It is known in the art to control or program a hearing aid using radio frequency (RF) transmissions. It is also known in the art to transmit data to a hearing aid having a diode sensitive to infrared radiation; see U.S. Pat. No. 6,229,900 (Leenen). Remote controls for hearing aids are no less likely to be misplaced or need new batteries than remote controls for any other device. It is desired to eliminate the tedium of needing a remote control.
A mechanical switch requires that one have an opening in the housing of a hearing aid. Moisture, wax, dirt, oils and so on, can work their way into the housing, causing problems. It is preferable that a hearing aid be made relatively impervious to ambient conditions.
U.S. Patent Application Publication 2005/0141740 discloses that “the use of higher voltages from the various voltage taps of battery 310 may be used [sic] to turn off and on hearing aid 300 via non mechanical switch means such as a membrane switch, a capacitive switch, a piezo switch, etc.” There is no other disclosure in the publication concerning a capacitive switch.
In view of the foregoing, it is therefore an object of the invention to provide a hearing aid with a capacitive switch for communication and control.
Another object of the invention is to provide a capacitive switch for a BTE hearing aid.
A further object of the invention is to provide a capacitive switch for an ITE hearing aid.
Another object of the invention is to provide a hearing aid that is relatively impervious to ambient conditions.